Pressure gauge for communicating with a downhole valve

ABSTRACT

A system includes a downhole valve, a pressure gauge mounted on the downhole valve, and a power source for powering the pressure gauge. The pressure gauge is programmed to interpret a pressure command characterized by at least two variables of a pressure signal to open the downhole valve.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/068,198, filed Aug. 20, 2020, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein and should be considered part of this specification.

BACKGROUND

Hydrocarbon fluids such as oil and natural gas are obtained from a subterranean geologic formation, referred to as a reservoir, by drilling a wellbore that penetrates the hydrocarbon-bearing formation. Once the wellbore is drilled, various forms of well completion components may be installed to control and enhance the efficiency of producing the various fluids from the reservoir.

Isolation valves safeguard reservoirs by providing a reliable barrier within the completion tubing string. Isolation valves may utilize a ball valve as the primary barrier mechanism, and the ball valve can be actuated to open and close by a variety of different means (e.g., via hydraulic control line or mechanically).

To remotely open, the valve must be able to sense pressure applications. However, due to the nature of these pressure applications and the trigger employed in existing valves, there is an increased likelihood that the valve may be inadvertently signaled to open. Moreover, the trigger and the associated sensing capabilities of the system may be unable to distinguish between different pressure profiles. Accordingly, there is a need for improved communication with downhole valves in sensing pressure applications.

SUMMARY

A system according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure includes a downhole valve, a pressure gauge mounted on the downhole valve, and a power source for powering the pressure gauge. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the pressure gauge is programmed to interpret a pressure command characterized by at least two variables of a pressure signal to open the downhole valve.

A method according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure includes sending a pressure command downhole to open a downhole valve, the pressure command characterized by at least two variables of a pressure signal, interpreting the pressure command downhole using a pressure gauge mounted on the downhole valve, and opening the downhole valve.

However, many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the system and/or methodology may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments are possible. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but rather made merely for the purpose of describing general principles of the implementations. The scope of the described implementations should be ascertained with reference to the issued claims.

As used herein, the terms “connect”, “connection”, “connected”, “in connection with”, and “connecting” are used to mean “in direct connection with” or “in connection with via one or more elements”; and the term “set” is used to mean “one element” or “more than one element”. Further, the terms “couple”, “coupling”, “coupled”, “coupled together”, and “coupled with” are used to mean “directly coupled together” or “coupled together via one or more elements”. As used herein, the terms “up” and “down”; “upper” and “lower”; “top” and “bottom”; and other like terms indicating relative positions to a given point or element are utilized to more clearly describe some elements. Commonly, these terms relate to a reference point at the surface from which drilling operations are initiated as being the top point and the total depth being the lowest point, wherein the well (e.g., wellbore, borehole) is vertical, horizontal or slanted relative to the surface.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to using a pressure gauge to communicate with a downhole valve. The gauge may be a quartz gauge, but other known pressure gauges may be used. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the pressure gauge for communication with a downhole valve is a single-sensor or multiple-sensor permanent pressure temperature (PT) gauge manufactured by Schlumberger Technology Corporation. In one or more embodiments, high pressure high temperature (HPHT) permanent PT gauges using advanced quartz sensors for high-quality measurements can be employed. These permanent gauges are configured to deliver stable pressure and temperature measurements, which are essential in long-term reservoir and production monitoring applications. In embodiments, the gauges can communicate via telemetry with a surface unit to provide real-time evaluation and prompt corrective actions for enhanced well production. In one or more embodiments, the permanent PT gauge uses enhanced silicon-on-insulator sensors to provide high-quality measurements in the tubing or annulus. In one or more embodiments, the telemetry used by the gauge and surface acquisition unit is immune to external electrical noise and electromagnetic field interference (e.g., from ESP power cables or motor drives).

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the pressure gauge may be mounted to the downhole valve. For example, the pressure gauge according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be either fixedly or pivotably mounted to the downhole valve. While mounted to the downhole valve, the pressure gauge according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is able to sense the tubing pressure and the duration of the pressure application. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the pressure gauge is able to sense a plurality of variables in a given pressure signal including, but not limited to, one or more of amplitude, time, frequency, bandwidth, and power, for example. In one or more embodiments, one or more pressure gauges may be mounted to the downhole valve, and a given pressure gauge may include one or more sensors without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

An advantage of utilizing a pressure gauge to communicate with a downhole valve in accordance with one or more embodiments of the pressure disclosure is that the pressure command for opening the downhole valve may be smart. For example, the pressure command to open the downhole valve may incorporate at least two variables of the pressure signal, such as the amplitude of the pressure and the duration (i.e., time) of the pressure application, for example, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Moreover, the pressure gauge according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may improve communication with the associated downhole valve in sensing pressure applications. For example, for an existing downhole valve that does not include the pressure gauge according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure mounted thereon, the pressure command to trigger the downhole valve to open may be 19 pressure applications of >3,000 psi. For such existing downhole valves, a pressure application of 4,000 psi for 5 minutes may not be treated differently from a pressure application of 10,000 psi for 60 minutes. However, by replacing the trigger of existing downhole valves with the pressure gauge according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the sensitivity and robustness of sensing pressure applications may be significantly improved. For example, in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure in which the pressure gauge is mounted onto the downhole valve, the pressure command to trigger the downhole valve to open may be much more specific: e.g., apply 9,000-10,000 psi for 5 minutes, reduce the pressure to 5,000-6,000 psi for 15 minutes, increase the pressure to 7,000-8,000 psi for 10 minutes, then bleed the pressure to <1,000 psi. Advantageously, the ability to send and interpret more specific pressure commands significantly increases the uniqueness of the opening signal, and therefore, decreases the likelihood of inadvertently signaling the downhole valve to open. The ability to send and interpret more specific pressure commands also significantly decreases the time to “cycle” the downhole valve to the open configuration.

In addition to the above, the pressure command for opening the downhole valve having the pressure gauge mounted thereon according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be customized for different global applications. Such customization is a particular advantage because different wells around the world may have very different pressure profiles. That is, instead of pressure indexing being dependent on piston areas with springs, the pressure command may be programmable and instantly changeable prior to sending to the downhole valve.

The system according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure includes, at least, one or more pressure gauges, a downhole valve, a battery, such as, for example, an on-board lithium battery for powering the pressure gauge, and a logic module for programming the pressure gauge to interpret pressure commands for opening the downhole valve.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with respect to completions systems having downhole valves such as isolation valves or ball valves, embodiments of the present disclosure may also be used in a variety of other sensing pressure applications to improve communication downhole.

Language of degree used herein, such as the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” and “substantially” as used herein represent a value, amount, or characteristic close to the stated value, amount, or characteristic that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount that is within less than 10% of, within less than 5% of, within less than 1% of, within less than 0.1% of, and/or within less than 0.01% of the stated amount. As another example, in certain embodiments, the terms “generally parallel” and “substantially parallel” or “generally perpendicular” and “substantially perpendicular” refer to a value, amount, or characteristic that departs from exactly parallel or perpendicular, respectively, by less than or equal to 15 degrees, 10 degrees, 5 degrees, 3 degrees, 1 degree, or 0.1 degree.

Although a few embodiments of the disclosure have been described in detail above, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims. It is also contemplated that various combinations or sub-combinations of the specific features and aspects of the embodiments described may be made and still fall within the scope of the disclosure. It should be understood that various features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with, or substituted for, one another in order to form varying modes of the embodiments of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the disclosure herein should not be limited by the particular embodiments described above. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a downhole valve; a pressure gauge mounted on the downhole valve; and a power source for powering the pressure gauge, wherein the pressure gauge is programmed to interpret a pressure command characterized by at least two variables of a pressure signal to open the downhole valve.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the pressure gauge is fixedly mounted on the downhole valve.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the pressure gauge is pivotably mounted on the downhole valve.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the power source is a battery on board the pressure gauge.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two variables of the pressure signal comprise: amplitude and time.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the pressure gauge is a quartz gauge.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the pressure gauge communicates with a surface unit via telemetry.
 8. A method, comprising: sending a pressure command downhole to open a downhole valve, the pressure command characterized by at least two variables of a pressure signal; interpreting the pressure command downhole using a pressure gauge mounted on the downhole valve; and opening the downhole valve.
 9. The method of claim 9, wherein the pressure gauge is fixedly mounted on the downhole valve.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the pressure gauge is pivotably mounted on the downhole valve.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the pressure gauge is powered by a battery on board the pressure gauge.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least two variables of the pressure signal comprise: amplitude and time.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the pressure gauge is a quartz gauge.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the pressure gauge communicates with a surface unit via telemetry. 